Kiss Of The Cobra King
by Col. Sayaka Miki
Summary: Mata Nui is dead. The few left alive vow revenge on Vezon, the bringer of this disaster. But, in another universe, Olmak in hand, the true villain rises to power. The Snake is immortal. Zaktan is Eternal.


Helryx looked over the burning wreckage and smoldering flames. It was over. It was all over. She bowed her head. "We've failed. Countless centuries in the planning, and everything goes up in ashes because of one miserable little mistake."

Kopaka stood nearby on the remains of a Skopio XV-2, scanning the horizon. He looked down to her. "We can hunt him down. If nothing else, we can bring him to justice."

Helryx balled her fists, thousands of years of emotional build up finally coming to a peak. "No!" Her outburst startled the other Toa. She turned quickly, spotting Jaller and Kongu. "How many are left? How many, Matoran or otherwise?"

Jaller sighed, clearly hating what he had to report. "With everything the way it is, it's unlikely we'll find every survivor any time soon." He looked behind him at the colossal ruin. "We've found maybe a few hundred alive. More than a dozen Toa and Glatorian, including Hewkii, Onua, and Pohatu. We've organized everyone who can move into search teams. We're doing the best we can."

With that, Helryx looked back up to Kopaka. "Do you see the damage he's done? Do you see all the death? With the state we're in, how can we go after him? He's beyond our reach now anyway. He took our only means of following him, though I have no idea how he got his hands on it."

Kopaka looked grim, but no less determined. "We will find a way. Maybe not now, and maybe not for a very long time, but Vezon will pay for the death of Mata Nui, and everyone who went with him."

* * *

Shifting like water on the sea. Like sand in a storm. Like insects in a swarm. The green mass floated over the Kanohi Olmak, feeling every crevasse, entering every crack. Moving away, it was drawn to the other item in the chamber. As it coalesced, a face formed in the mass. A wide white grin appeared, glowing red eyes set above it, and two primal horns. Zaktan stood before his greatest victory.

In a vat of yellow liquid, Vezon floated unconscious, asleep. Here, Zaktan could keep his partner in crime alive and under control indefinitely. Any number of mechanical failures could result in Vezon dying, or worse, waking up, but Zaktan was only interested in bringing with him the only thing that could bring his downfall. The mask fused to Vezon's face, the second Kanohi Olmak. If anyone were to follow him, anyone, ever, everything would be lost. No one could ever get their hands on Vezon, or either of the masks. But that didn't mean he couldn't take someone with him. He'd already brought Vezon, and that was under control perfectly.

Zaktan's eyes moved over to the only other thing in the dark room. A small, fragile, weak body lay on the floor. The creature that had been inhabiting the vat Vezon now resided in was pitiful, a tiny organic thing. After opening the vat and pulling it out, the creature had cried out in pain before being crushed by Zaktan's grip. Sending the swarm around the chamber, he had quickly found and disabled everything inside. Outside was a mystery at the moment, but he would take it one step at a time. Reaching out towards the dead thing, he allowed the swarm to drive itself into a frenzy and consume the organic corpse entirely.

Since long before the Dark Hunters had found him, Zaktan had found pleasure in one thing. Pain. Physical pain was great to watch, but it was not the best. Emotional pain was better, but there was something better still. He loved, and had always loved, tearing into the minds of others. Ripping apart everything that made them who they were. Destroying the fabric of their being, and in doing so, destroying them. He cherished every moment of terror, sadness, and rage in his victims.

And he would have victims.

He was the King of Snakes, the Architect of Chaos, the Bringer of Death, and the Reaper of Pain. He was, and always had been, the prototype Skakdi, the first of his kind, the most powerful, and ultimately the cause for the downfall of Zakaz. His power was unmatched, though long hidden. Now, with evil supreme coursing through him, he had found his way into a world that knew no way to face him. Nor could they hope to stand against the power he wielded. And he would continue through other worlds after this one, studying, gathering knowledge and power, until none could dare challenge him.

Zaktan was eternal.


End file.
